'[Restoring the line between persuasion and coercion] is about preserving democracy’s greatest strategic advantage: the ability to resolve profound political disagreement by convincing fellow citizens rather than compelling them,' writes John Coyne.

Democracy needs a boundary between protest and coercion | The Strategist

The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team’s investigation into an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne defence company has generated predictable debate about whether the incident constitutes terrorism...

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🚨 SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨 We're pleased to announce Jessica Hunter will speak at the TSD AI Masterclass on 14 September. Join senior political, industry and civil society leaders as they examine the opportunities, risks and choices that will shape the region's AI future. 🎫 Tickets: bit.ly/4aEWpld

'If industry is an integral element of military capability, readiness and deterrence, it should be held to readiness standards the way armed forces are,' writes John Harvey.

Defence industry is deterrence – and alliance supply is conditional | The Strategist

When NATO leaders met in Ankara in July 2026, industry was the centrepiece of the summit. The Strategy for Industry–NATO Cooperation, endorsed by all 32 allies, treats industrial capacity as an instru...

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'Now, robot versus robot battles are common. However, Russia has adapted as well. It learned from drone warfare and was the first to deploy fibre-optic drones at scale across the front,' writes David Kirichenko.

The autonomous arms race in the Russia–Ukraine war | The Strategist

The war in Ukraine has become increasingly technological. Take unmanned systems: Kyiv has successfully implemented a drone strategy that combines a drone wall along the immediate front, long-range dro...

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SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🔊 We're delighted to announce Nicholas Davis, Industry Professor of Emerging Tech at the University of Technology Sydney, will speak at the TSD AI Masterclass on 14 September. Join leading experts as they discuss the strategic implications of AI. 🎫 Tickets ➡️ bit.ly/4aEWpld

'The [critical minerals] challenge is not insurmountable, but piecemeal solutions will bog down decision-makers and risk throwing good money at bad investments,' writes Robert Monterosso.

How to win the battle for critical minerals | The Strategist

In the struggle with China over critical-minerals supply chains, the United States and its partners should focus efforts across three fronts: commercial, technological and allied coordination. Action ...

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'North Korea does not need a blue-water fleet capable of defeating the United States, South Korea or Japan. It needs a naval force dangerous enough to complicate allied planning, disperse scarce assets and expand the ways it can threaten nuclear escalation,' writes Jihoon Yu.

North Korea’s naval buildup will stretch allied forces across the Indo-Pacific | The Strategist

North Korea’s naval modernisation is still in its early stages. Much of its surface and submarine fleet remains outdated, while its more ambitious shipbuilding and undersea programs face serious techn...

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SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🔊 We're pleased to announce Abigail Bradshaw, Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate, will speak at the TSD AI Masterclass on 14 September. Hear from leading experts as they discuss the economic and security implications of AI. 🎟️ Tickets ➡️ bit.ly/4aEWpld

'Without complementary mission-driven challenges, defence organisations risk overlooking opportunities to combine existing systems, refine doctrine and identify genuine capability gaps before investing in new technology,' writes Bryce C Barros.

Canada, NZ focus on mission-driven technology. AUKUS Pillar Two should, too | The Strategist

US, British, and Australian defence innovation organisations can learn from Canada and New Zealand, which are jointly focusing on faster, mission-driven challenges to achieve operational capability. C...

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'AI is not just a weapon like a gun or a nuclear bomb; it’s a possible godsend that could help us solve many of the greatest challenges facing humankind. But that’s all the more reason to be careful with the way it is deployed,' writes David Wroe.

Spreading AI widely is right. Spreading it recklessly is a gamble | The Strategist

American gun rights advocates are fond of saying that the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, meaning more guns in the hands of law-abiding ...

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NEW PODCAST 🎙️ In a new episode of Stop the World, David Wroe speaks to Janet Egan from the Center for a New American Security about the implications of the OpenAI hack of Hugging Face, China's AI strategy, the merits of open weight models and Australia's AI opportunities. 🎧 Listen: bit.ly/4g4AsPu

'In the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines remains at the coalface of maritime grey-zone coercion, often receiving inconsistent backing from the wider international community,' writes Bec Strating.

China pushes harder in South China Sea – as attention drifts away | The Strategist

In the South China Sea, China is expanding its presence in disputed waters and adopting increasingly dangerous tactics against neighbouring states. At the same time, it is challenging the centrality o...

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SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🔊 We're pleased to announce Dr Paul Robards, Chief Data Integration Officer at the Department of Defence, will speak at the TSD AI Masterclass in September. Hear from leading experts as they discuss the defence and security questions posed by AI. 🎫 Tickets: bit.ly/4aEWpld

NEW PROGRAM 📌 ASPI has launched its new Artificial Intelligence and Security Program. Led by ASPI Resident Senior Fellow David Wroe, the program will deliver research, commentary and analysis to help inform policy on one of the defining strategic issues of our time. 🔗 Learn more: bit.ly/3RZ4hI5

🚨 NEW PUBLICATION 🚨 In a new ASPI explainer, ‘From the old world to the new: Why German rearmament matters for Australia’, Carl Janz examines Germany's ambitious rearmament and its implications for Australia's security interests. 🔖 Read it here: bit.ly/4fEujYW

'The blossoming relationship between Canberra and Tokyo captures both a striking continuity in the core allies’ commitment to the principles of that order and a limited but substantive shift in how they reinforce it,' writes William D James.

Australia and Japan are stewards of a wavering order | The Strategist

The Australia–Japan quasi-alliance is not a hedge against US unreliability, nor should it be seen in purely bilateral terms. Rather, it is emblematic of a broader pattern I call ‘stewarding’, in which...

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'Domestically, [Indonesia's] military focus is shaped by a broad understanding of security that encompasses food security, illegal mining and other civilian-facing priorities,' writes Jascha Ramba Santoso.

As Australia looks to partnership, Indonesian military builds internal role | The Strategist

Indonesia’s defence policy is moving in two directions at once. Externally, it is pursuing procurement and modernisation while expanding defence diplomacy, training and international engagement. But d...

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ICYMI 🎙️ In the latest episode of Stop the World, David Wroe is joined by You-Hao Lai to discuss how AI is supercharging China's information operations and how Taiwan is fighting back against a relentless and well-resourced adversary. 🎧 Listen here 👉 bit.ly/4hDam7m

'Success will depend on whether [the Quad's] members move beyond investment announcements and begin building the institutions, market mechanisms and industrial capacity needed to convert geological advantage into enduring strategic power,' writes John Coyne.

The Quad is still treating critical minerals as a mining problem | The Strategist

China won the first critical minerals contest while Australia, India, Japan and the United States were still debating supply-chain resilience. Beijing’s advantage didn’t stem from superior mineral res...

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'This outcome is a worthy inheritance for the next generation of soldiers and a sound foundation for the new chief of army, Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, to carry forward,' writes Marcus Schultz.

Australian Army chief leaves legacy and an open door for further professionalisation | The Strategist

The Australian Army has completed a two-year internal review into the state of the profession and institutional reform targeting command accountability. This period of introspection addressed what Lie...

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SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🔊 We're delighted to announce Dr Kate Conroy, General Manager of Australia's AI Safety Institute, will speak at the TSD AI Masterclass on 14 September. Join us in Canberra for a day of discussion on the benefits, challenges and implications of AI. 🔗 Register 👉 bit.ly/4aEWpld

'Nearly 40 percent of the most actively targeted vulnerabilities affect end-of-life devices. For systems that will never receive another path, there is no remediation window. There is only exposure,' write Jason Van der Schyff and James Corera.

Legacy technology is a national security threat hiding in plain sight | The Strategist

The problem with legacy technology is not that organisations do not know the risks. It is that no mechanism forces a decision. Ownership is distributed across operators, boards, procurement teams, regulators and ministers until responsibility effectively disappears and unsupported ...

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🚨 NEW REPORT 🚨 In 'Past its use-by-date', ASPI Fellow Jason Van der Schyff examines how governments & critical-infrastructure operators are accumulating dangerous exposure from end-of-life technology, & how a structured response can convert that liability into national advantage. 🔖: bit.ly/4x3nKpP

'Osborne should be brought into line with the standard process. If it’s good enough for Henderson, it should be good enough for Osborne,' writes Raelene Lockhorst.

AUKUS spending should be fully accountable at Osborne. It is at Henderson | The Strategist

For no good reason that anyone can see, much of the infrastructure spending for building Australian nuclear submarines is bypassing public accountability. Of the two main sites for AUKUS Pillar One, t...

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🚨 SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨 We are looking forward to welcoming Dr Liming Zhu to the Sydney Dialogue AI Masterclass on 14 September in Canberra. Hear from leading experts as they discuss the future of AI in Australia and the Indo-Pacific. 🔗 Register now ➡️ bit.ly/4aEWpld

'Japan’s proposal for allied nations to coordinate strategic stockpiles should be implemented. Strategic stockpiles remain an essential insurance policy, but they cannot by themselves reduce excessive concentration,' writes John Coyne.

Australia and Japan can help build the G7's critical-minerals future | The Strategist

This week’s visit to Australia by Japanese Minister of State for Economic Security Kimi Onoda offers the country an opportunity to ensure its natural abundance of critical minerals can play a key role...

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🚨 SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨 We're delighted to announce Jisoo Kim, Co-Founder and Director of ClearAI, will speak at the TSD AI Masterclass on 14 September. Join us for a deep dive into the global strategic outlook for AI, defence applications, AI safety and more. 🔗 Register now 👉 bit.ly/4aEWpld

'When Indo-Pacific democratic governments unite in publicly criticising China’s military provocations, the European Union should join – just as countries such as Australia and Japan do in response to Russia’s ongoing aggression,' writes Bart Hogeveen.

EU, speak out about China. You owe it to the Indo-Pacific | The Strategist

When Indo-Pacific democratic governments unite in publicly criticising China’s military provocations, the European Union should join – just as countries such as Australia and Japan do in response to R...

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'Australia’s efforts are complementing US support to the Philippines – and sending a signal to Washington that it doesn’t have to do all the lifting. We ought to see much more of this,' write Raji Rajagopalan and Malcolm Davis.

Just what’s needed: one US friend, Australia, steps up help for another, Philippines | The Strategist

Perception is now part of strategy in the Indo-Pacific. The United States’ partners must not only contribute more but be seen to be contributing more if they want it to stay invested in regional stabi...

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We're pleased to announce Andrew Charlton, Australia's Assistant Minister for Science, Tech and the Digital Economy, will speak at the TSD AI Masterclass on 14 September! As AI reshapes strategic competition, understanding its implications has never been more important. 🔗 Register ➡️ bit.ly/4aEWpld